LED streetlight project: Principal secy pulls up Ludhiana MC over delay in payment

he principal secretary, AK Sinha, said the MC officials will have to bear any financial repercussions arising due to contractual clauses or litigation due to non-payment of dues; the civic body owes the company ₹11.83 crore for services rendered between July and November

While residents, and councillors have been slamming Tata Company officials for poor maintenance of streetlights, the local bodies department principal secretary has pulled up the fund-starved civic body over delay in clearing the company’s dues.

Company officials had complained to the principal secretary about non-payment of dues and the absence of a standard procedure to get funds cleared from the Ludhiana MC. (Representative Image/HT File)

The principal secretary, AK Sinha, said the MC officials will have to bear any financial repercussions arising due to contractual clauses or litigation due to non-payment of dues. The civic body owes the company ₹11.83 crore for services rendered between July and November.

The company has installed over 1 lakh streetlights across the city. Company officials had complained to the principal secretary about non-payment of dues and the absence of a standard procedure to get funds cleared from the civic body.

On the civic body not having adequate funds to honour its liabilities, Sinha said no organisation should enter into an agreement which it cannot uphold, as it also blots the government’s reputation. “It is unacceptable that a bill’s processing period should exceed the billing cycle. Directions have been issued to make the payment at the earliest,” Sinha said.

Alleging that not paying the company was a ploy to get private contractors to maintain the streetlights, former MC councillor Inder Aggarwal said, “How can the MC expect the lights to be maintained, if they are not paying the company.”

Despite attempts to reach MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal, he remained unavailable for comments.